Global Warming Demands Urgent Solutions, Scientists Say
January 31 — The world must halt greenhouse gas emissions and reverse them within two decades or watch the planet spiral towards destruction, scientists said. (Reuters)

Unique Australian Trees Endangered
January 31 — The only known wild stand of a tree species dating to Jurassic times has been endangered by a deadly disease probably introduced by an unauthorized hiker, a government official said. (Associated Press)

NASA to Set Up Cape Verde Weather Station to Study African Storms
January 31 — NASA reportedly plans to set up a weather research station in Cape Verde which will study the impact of African monsoons on the world's climate during one year, a local official said. (AFP)

Washington Weather May Be Killing Seabirds
January 31 — The mass starvation deaths of murres on Tatoosh Island off the Olympic Peninsula may be due in part to unusual weather patterns along the West Coast, scientists say. (Associated Press)

California Starts Monitoring Air Pollution in Farm Town Plagued by Pesticides, Smog
January 31 — The California Department of Pesticide Regulation began a yearlong air monitoring program to gauge levels of 40 airborne chemicals for the first time. (LiveScience.com)

Augustine Volcano Continues to Erupt
January 31 — The Augustine Volcano continued to erupt, producing a continuous crescent-shaped plume of steam, ash and gas speeding down the flanks of the island mount and into the sea. (Associated Press)

Glacial Tricks of a Volcanic Sculptor
January 30 — Lava channels created when Mount Etna blew its top in 2001 have prompted volcanologists to rethink the way volcanoes sculpt the Earth. (New Scientist)

NASA Test Provides Pilots With Better Weather Forecasts
January 30 — Weather forecasters in the middle of the United States are making better local predictions for pilots and others thanks to an airborne sensor being tested by NASA's Aviation Safety Program. (SpaceRef.com)

NASA Satellite Catches a Hurricane Transforming Itself
January 30 — Hurricanes can completely restructure themselves and recently a NASA satellite was able to see Hurricane Ophelia in 2005 rebuild the clouds and rains around its open "eye" of the storm. (Science Daily)

Satellites Unlock Hurricane Lili's Sudden Death
January 30 — Using a fleet of NASA and other satellites as well as aircraft and other observations, scientists were able to unlock the secret of Hurricane Lili's unexpected, rapid weakening as she moved toward a Louisiana landfall in 2002. (Science Daily)

Keeping New York City "Cool" is the Job of NASA's "Heat Seekers
January 30 — Several heat-busting strategies have recently been put in place to lessen the urban heat island effect in New York City, and NASA researchers have now taken a hard look at how well they are working, by using a combination of NASA satellite observations, computer models and geographic mapping information. (Science Daily)

Five Different Ways to Refer to Snow
January 30 — Scientists are launching a new way of rating snowstorms, a scale with five categories of intensity to be used not as a warning tool but to allow storms to be compared. (Associated Press)

Cosmic Rays Linked to Cloudy Days
January 30 — High-energy particles originate in outer space and in solar flares, and can have a small but significant effect on the weather, increasing the chances of an overcast day by nearly 20 percent. (New Scientist)

Stark Warning over Climate Change
January 30 — Rising concentrations of greenhouse gases may have more serious impacts than previously believed, a major scientific report has said. (BBC)

Parts of Portugal Could Become Desert
January 30 — Portugal's south risks turning into a desert as temperatures rise, its coasts will erode and droughts will become more frequent, the country's most complete report on the impact of global warming showed. (Reuters)

Floods and Drought Boost Global Disasters in 2005
January 30 — More frequent floods and drought, blamed by some scientists on global warming, brought a near 20 percent rise in natural disasters in 2005, researchers said. (Reuters)

Hurricanes Shape New Natural Order
January 29 — Scientists say coral reefs, flocks of sea birds, crab- and shrimp-filled meadows and dune-crowned beaches were wrapped up in and altered by the force of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Dennis. (Associated Press)

Scientists Find Frozen Methane Gas Deposit
January 28 — Scientists have discovered an undersea deposit of frozen methane just off the Southern California coast, but whether it can be harnessed as a potential energy source is unknown. (Associated Press)

Alaska Volcano Erupts After 10 Days of Quiet
January 28 — After 10 days of relative calm, Alaska's Augustine Volcano roared back to life, shooting a cloud of ash 40,000 feet into the sky. (Reuters)

Major Quake Hits Off Indonesia Coast, No Tsunami
January 28 — A strong earthquake struck in the Banda Sea in eastern Indonesia, but there were no reports of casualties or major damage, and local fears of a tsunami proved unfounded. (Reuters)

Cooler Weather, Rain Calms Australia Bushfires
January 27 — Cooler conditions and a little rain calmed deadly bushfires in the Australian state of Victoria and allowed weary firefighters to make some headway in their battle, but authorities warned the crisis was not over. (Reuters)

Another Hurricane Record for 2005
January 27 — Forecasters studying data from July's Tropical Storm Cindy found a pocket of wind hit 75 miles-per-hour, making it a hurricane, and pushing the 2005 Atlantic hurricane count to 15. (Associated Press)

Gulf Reefs Damaged by Rita, Warm Waters
January 27 — Hurricane Rita's pounding waves and a hotter-than-usual Gulf of Mexico took a toll on the Gulf of Mexico's only government-protected coral reefs about 100 miles off the Louisiana and Texas coasts. (Associated Press)

Team Finds Rare Sandpipers in Bangladesh
January 27 — At least 11 rare spoon-billed sandpipers have been discovered along the coast of Bangladesh, scientists said, raising hopes for the survival of the birds, whose population has dwindled to just 300-350 pairs in the wild. (Associated Press)

Researcher: Pollution Limits Sun in China
January 27 — China's skies have darkened over the past 50 years, possibly due to haze resulting from a nine-fold increase in fossil fuel emissions, according to researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy. (Associated Press)

Blobs Inside Earth Might Explain Rapid Mountain Building
January 27 — The Andes mountains rose to their dizzying heights in as little as 7 million years, a new study concludes. (LiveScience.com)

Study: Global Warming May Raise Sea Levels
January 26 — Global warming will cause sea levels to rise up to 34 centimeters (11 inches) by the end of the century, causing increased flooding and coastal erosion, according to a new study by Australian researchers. (Associated Press)

Two Large Lakes Discovered Under Antarctic Ice
January 25 — Antarctica has at least 145 small lakes buried under its ice and one large one called Vostok - and now scientists have found the second and third largest known bodies of subsurface liquid water there. (Reuters)

Coral, Mangroves Good for Economy
January 25 — Coral reefs and mangroves are worth protecting for economic reasons, contributing as much as 1 million U.S. dollars per square kilometer to tropical economies. (Reuters)

Australian Scientists Join Worldwide Reef Census Project
January 24 — Australian marine scientists have joined an international census of marine life in the world's coral reefs and they estimate there are somewhere between one and nine million species living on coral reefs - but they have never been counted. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Last Year Was Warmest in a Century
January 24 — Researchers calculated that 2005 produced the highest annual average surface temperature worldwide since instrument recordings began in the late 1800s, said James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. (Associated Press)

Warming Probably Not Killing Arizona Frogs
January 24 — Arizona researchers say that a fungal disease killing off frogs in the state probably isn't being triggered by global warming. (Associated Press)

Arkansas Scientist Says Fault Activity Unclear
January 24 — A researcher at the University of Arkansas says recent research showing a build up of strain in the New Madrid Seismic Zone is inconclusive because the tension cannot be seen well enough to determine any earthquake hazard. (Associated Press)

Japan Scientists Find Million-Year-Old Ice
January 24 — A team of Japanese researchers drilling on Antarctica has recovered what is believed to be the oldest sample of ice ever -- possibly dating back 1 million years, officials said. (Associated Press)

Deadly Cold Wave Sweeps across Europe
January 24 — Vienna's subway tracks cracked, German authorities shut a key canal to ships after it iced up, and a zoo moved its penguins indoors as a deadly deep freeze tightened its arctic grip on much of Europe. (Associated Press)

NASA to Fly Into Tropical "Portal" to the Stratosphere
January 23 — NASA scientists are leading an airborne field experiment to a warm tropical locale to take a close look at a largely unexplored region of the chilly upper atmosphere - critical to the recovery of the ozone layer and predicting future climate change. (Associated Press)

Huge Tsunami Could Hit North Japan in Quake Scenario
January 22 — A major quake striking northeastern Japan could set off a 22-meter tsunami and kill nearly 3,000, according to a worst-case government scenario, Kyoto news agency said. (Reuters)

A New Gust of Wind Projects in U.S.
January 22 — With wind farms popping up from New York to Texas to California, wind power is riding high in the saddle again and the explosive growth could make the United States the world's largest wind-power market, a new report shows. (Christian Science Monitor)

Endangered Right Whale Calf Dead in Florida
January 22 — An endangered North Atlantic right whale calf was found dead off Florida's northeast coast, the second such death reported this month, officials said. (Associated Press)

United States Ranks 28th on Environment, a New Study Says
January 22 — A pilot nation-by-nation study of environmental performance shows that just six nations - led by New Zealand, followed by five from Northern Europe - have achieved 85 percent or better success in meeting a set of critical environmental goals. (The New York Times)

Whale in River Thames Dies
January 21 — The lost and distressed whale stranded in the River Thames died as rescue workers attempted to ferry it out to sea for release, an animal rights group said. (Associated Press)

Harsh Japan Winter Finally Catches Up with Tokyo
January 21 — Japan's harshest winter in decades finally caught up to Tokyo and blanketed the capital in its heaviest snowfall in five years, forcing flight cancellations and slowing trains. (Reuters)

NASA's Image Satellite Ends Mission
January 21 — A NASA satellite studying Earth's magnetic field has stopped operating after six years, the space agency said. (MSNBC)

Beluga Whale Numbers Remain Flat in Alaska
January 20 — A survey of beluga whales in Cook Inlet finds that numbers remain stagnant and could be declining despite a lengthy effort to get the white whales to rebound. (Associated Press)

Feds Want Independent to Head Owl Recovery
January 20 — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking an independent contractor to head development of a recovery plan for the threatened northern spotted owl, whose numbers are believed to be shrinking. (Associated Press)

Darker Days in China as Sun Gets Dimmer
January 20 — Using nearly 500 instruments that record the amount of sunlight reaching the ground, researchers found that solar radiation has decreased by about 2 percent per decade since 1954, largely due to an increase in smog. (LiveScience.com)

Report: California Worst in Soot Pollution
January 20 — California has the worst rate of soot pollution in the United States, according to a report released by an environmental group. (Associated Press)

Pittsburgh Tops in Soot Levels, Group Says
January 20 — Soot levels in Pittsburgh exceeded federal health standards on seven days in 2004, more than any other major metropolitan area, an environmental advocacy group reported. (Associated Press)

Forecast for Earth in 2050: It's Not So Gloomy
January 20 — A U.N. report suggests that by 2050, liberal trade policies, concerted efforts to reduce poverty, improved education and public health, and an active response to environmental issues could yield low population growth and high economic growth, with mixed results on the environment. (Christian Science Monitor)

Balloons to Help Scientists Clear Cloudy Picture
January 20 — Scientists from 10 countries will release 1,000 weather balloons in Australia's northern city of Darwin over the next month as part an international experiment to try to find out the nature of tropical clouds. (Reuters)

Arctic Temperatures Blanket Russia, Death Toll Rises to More than 30
January 20 — Arctic temperatures gripped most of Russia for a fourth day, pushing the death toll across the frozen country to more than 30 people as even hardy Russians struggled to cope with the big freeze. (Associated Press)

Researchers Want to Count White Pelicans
January 19 — Researchers say they want to conduct the first census of the American white pelican population in North America in about 25 years. (Associated Press)

Drought Puts Kenya's Wildlife at Risk
January 19 — A severe drought which has left millions of people hungry across East Africa is now threatening Kenya's famous animals, which are straying out of protected areas in search of water, wildlife officials said. (Reuters)

Texas Expects to Fight Wildfires through April
January 19 — Wildfires that have scorched some 455,000 acres in Texas are likely to keep burning until the end of April, the state's emergency management coordinator said. (Reuters)

Pollution-Cutting Infrared System for Aircraft Deicing Opens at Oslo Airport
January 19 — Europe's first aircraft de-icing hangar using infrared heat rather than polluting chemicals, opened at Oslo Airport-Gardermoen, airport officials said. (Associated Press)

Irrigation Fuels Warmer Temps in California's Central Valley
January 19 — Irrigation of California's Central Valley, which turned it from desert to productive farmland, could be to blame for warmer summer nights that have been recorded in recent years. (LiveScience.com)

NASA Announces New Mission to Study Atmosphere
January 19 — NASA scientists say they have launched a new climate change study using a special aircraft that will enter the high troposphere -- the lowest level of the earth's atmosphere -- in the tropics. (USA Today)

18 Most Dangerous U.S. Volcanoes Include Erupting Alaska Peak
January 19 — The newly vigorous Augustine Island volcano is just one of the 18 most dangerous U.S. volcanoes, according to a report released by the U.S. Geological Survey that rates threat levels and assesses the monitoring activity at each site. (National Geographic News)

Sea-Level Rise is Quickening Pace
January 19 — The rate of global sea-level rise has sped up during the twentieth century, Australian researchers have confirmed. (Nature)

Scientists Probe Cause of Death of East Coast Fish
January 18 — Fish are sick and dying in many different rivers along the East Coast of the United States, and while different diseases are afflicting the fish, scientists are trying to determine if there is a common source of their ailments. (National Public Radio)

Whale Birth Decline Tied to Global Warming, Study Says
January 18 — By observing more than 1,800 right whales in the southern Atlantic, researchers have determined that changes in climate are affecting the whales' reproductive success, as their food supply--mainly krill--is dying off. (National Geographic News)

Endangered Whales Sighted off Texas Coast, Miles from Usual Winter Territory
January 18 — Two endangered whales were spotted in the Corpus Christi Bay, well outside their typical winter territory of Florida and Georgia, authorities said. (Associated Press)

Experts to Search Bangladesh for Sandpiper
January 18 — A team of international bird experts will begin surveying the Bangladesh coast in search of the endangered spoon-billed sandpiper, whose population they believe has dwindled to just 350 pairs in the wild, organizers said. (Reuters)

California Home to 27 New Species
January 18 — Twenty-seven previously unknown species of spiders, centipedes, scorpion-like creatures and other animals have been discovered in the dark, damp caves beneath two national parks in the Sierra Nevada, biologists say. (Associated Press)

Landslides Could Worsen with Global Warming
January 18 — Landslides kill 800-1,000 people a year and climate change may be adding to the risks from hillside slums in Latin America to Egypt's Valley of the Kings, U.N. experts said. (Reuters)

Hurricane Center Releases Wilma Report
January 17 — Hurricane Wilma hit densely populated south Florida at Category 2 strength, and the storm was stronger than estimated when it struck Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said in its final report on the storm. (Associated Press)

Volcano Shoots Ash 8 Miles High in Alaska
January 17 — The Augustine Volcano erupted, sending an ash plume more than eight miles into the air, officials at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said. (Associated Press)

World's Biggest Fish 'Shrinking'
January 17 — Whale sharks spotted off the coast of Australia are getting smaller, researchers have said. (BBC)

Sensors Watch Barrier Reef Coral
January 17 — With the ecology of coral reefs around the globe increasingly under pressure, scientists on Australia's Great Barrier Reef are establishing a network of sensors to better understand this part of the underwater world. (BBC)

Plan to Scrap Old Ships Stirs Pollution Worries
January 17 — A proposal to haul old ships in Oregon for salvage and recycling is raising concerns about toxic materials - asbestos, waste oil, lead paint, mercury, PCBs, and radioactive substances - that would likely threaten marine life. (Christian Science Monitor)

Conservationists Agree on Steps to Save African Lion
January 17 — Regional governments and conservationists have agreed on initial steps that need to be taken to save the African lion, which has been pushed to the brink of extinction throughout much of its range. (Reuters)

Cities Make Own Weather Due to Trapped Heat, Expert Says
January 17 — Tightly packed streets, parking lots, concrete buildings, and dark roofs absorb sunlight all day, and keeps cities 1* to 10*F (0.56* to 5.6*C) warmer than the surrounding countryside, reports a NASA scientist. (National Geographic News)

With Glaciers atop Volcanoes, Iceland Zooms in on Signs of Unrest
January 16 — Nearly 60 percent of volcanic eruptions in Iceland occur beneath glacial ice - worrying scientists - who say Katla, one of Iceland's most notorious volcanoes, is overdue for an eruption. (The New York Times)

Rains Bring Relief to South African Dams
January 16 — Rains last week have swelled dams over much of South Africa's grain triangle but water restrictions remain in place in some areas, a senior official with the water affairs department said. (Reuters)

Seattle Storm Water Intensifies Pollution
January 16 — Officials say Seattle's recent streak of rainy weather is increasing the spread of pollution from industry, septic tanks, manure-rich dairies, and other sources - putting salmon runs and killer whales at risk. (Associated Press)

Fewer Wetland Birds Migrate to United Kingdom
January 16 — Fewer migrating ducks, geese and wading birds are wintering in the United Kingdom because more are staying closer to their Arctic breeding grounds due to climate change. (BBC)

Capsule Brings First Comet Dust to Earth
January 15 — After a seven-year journey, a NASA space capsule returned safely to Earth with the first dust ever fetched from a comet, a cosmic bounty that scientists hope will yield clues to how the solar system formed. (Associated Press)

Catastrophic Eruption Not Likely from Alaska's Augustine Volcano
January 15 — Towering blasts of ash and steam from an uninhabited island volcano in south-central Alaska will likely continue for days or weeks, but scientists say there's little chance of a catastrophic eruption. (Associated Press)

Global Warming to Speed Up as Carbon Levels Show Sharp Rise
January 15 — Global warming is set to accelerate alarmingly because of a sharp jump in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, scientists report. (The Independent, UK)

Satellite Imagery Helps Climate Change Reef Study
January 15 — Marine researchers say satellite imagery from the United States will help them develop a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Enter Critical Year for Protection
January 14 — The remote 1,400-mile long string of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are blanketed with 14 million seabirds and numerous fish species, and over the next year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be developing rules for managing the waters under a proposed sanctuary status. (Associated Press)

Wildlife Officials Use Aircraft, People on Foot to Capture Rhinos for Relocation
January 14 — Wildlife officials used a small plane, a helicopter and hunters on foot to track down and dart endangered rhinos with tranquilizers, the latest attempt to capture and relocate some of the animals from oldest Kenya's oldest park. (Associated Press)

Engineers Race to Repair New Orleans Levees
January 14 — Ravaged last year by one hurricane and slapped by the fringes of another, New Orleans faces a 2006 storm season that begins in less than five months - not much time to repair the tattered ramparts that keep the city from being swallowed by the sea. (Associated Press)

Japan Death Toll from Heavy Snow Rises to 87
January 14 — The death toll from heavy snow in Japan reached 87 as relatively mild weather over the weekend sparked several avalanches, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. (AFP)

Earthquake Topples Houses in Southwest China
January 13 — An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale toppled at least 13,752 houses in southwest China, forcing 20,000 people to be evacuated and causing at least one injury. (AFP)

Japan Scientists Simulate Quake in Condo
January 13 — Japanese researchers tested a huge quake simulator capable of jolting a six-storey building in a project that could help improve earthquake-resistant construction methods. (Associated Press)

U.S., Australia Pledge Millions of Dollars to Promote Fight against Global Warming
January 13 — Six of the world's biggest polluters endorsed a voluntary plan that they claim will reduce their greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2050, but environmentalists called it an empty promise that will only benefit big business. (Associated Press)

California Poised to Invest Billions in Solar Power
January 12 — In a milestone for renewable energy, California is expected to make the largest investment in solar power of any state in U.S. history. (San Luis Obispo Tribune)

Wyoming Debates Removing Grizzly Protection
January 12 — Several speakers at the only public hearing on a plan to remove grizzly bears from federal endangered species protection called for more hearings on the proposal. (Associated Press)

Mild La Nina Forecast for Spring
January 12 — La Nina, a mild cooling of the tropical Pacific Ocean which can affect weather in other areas, is being forecast for spring and should encourage wet weather in the Pacific Northwest and dry conditions in the South, say forecasters. (Associated Press)

Booming Nations 'Threaten Earth'
January 12 — Earth lacks the water, energy and agricultural land to allow China and India to attain Western living standards, a U.S. think-tank has warned. (BBC)

China Proposes Fewer Dams in Power Project to Aid Environment
January 12 — A government environmental review has recommended reducing the number of dams included in a controversial hydropower proposal on the Nu River in southwestern China in order to limit environmental damage and decrease the number of people who would be resettled, a Hong Kong newspaper has reported. (The New York Times)

Plants Revealed as Methane Source
January 11 — Scientists in Germany have discovered that ordinary plants produce significant amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas which helps trap the sun's energy in the atmosphere. (BBC)

Climate Culprit for Frog Deaths
January 11 — The dramatic decline of some frog populations is directly connected to global warming, a new study claims. (BBC)

Warming May Cut Duck Numbers
January 11 — A professor from the University of Montana had a simple message in Arkansas: if you like hunting ducks, support international efforts to prevent global warming. (Associated Press)

Algae - Like a Breath Mint for Smokestacks
January 11 — Overshadowed by a multibillion-dollar push into other "clean-coal" technologies, a handful of tiny companies are racing to create an even cleaner, greener process using the same slimy stuff that thrives in the world's oceans. (The Christian Science Monitor)

Pacific Storms Create Surf Nirvana
January 11 — The string of powerful winter storms careening through the North Pacific Ocean over the last few weeks, along with some 21st century surf forecasting, has been proving a boon to monster wave surfers in California. (Discovery.com)

Augustine Volcano in Alaska Erupts
January 11 — A volcano on an uninhabited island erupted, spewing an ash plume about five miles into the sky, but was expected to steer clear of Anchorage, the state's most populous city nearly 200 miles to the northeast, meteorologists said. (Associated Press)

Christmas Trees Get Recycled Underwater in Arizona
January 11 — In Lake Havasu, in the middle of the desert, Bureau of Land Management employees dump used trees to create an artificial reef for a fish habitat. (National Public Radio)

Rapidly Shrinking Arctic Ice Could Spell Trouble for the Rest of the World
January 10 — Alarmed by an accelerating loss of ice in the Arctic Ocean, scientists are striving to understand why the speedup is happening and say it could point the way to radical changes in the Earth's climate and weather systems. (Knight Ridder)

Broken Ice Dam Blamed for 300-Year Chill
January 10 — A three-century-long cold spell that chilled Europe 8200 years ago was probably caused by the bursting of a Canadian ice dam, which released a colossal flood of glacial meltwater into the Atlantic Ocean. (New Scientist)

Climate Fears, Water Shortages Haunt Europe
January 10 — France and Spain are ringing alarm bells over the climate, fearing a repeat of last year's drought that sparked deadly forest fires, costly crop failures and widespread water rationing in southern Europe. (Reuters)

Lots of Lightning in 2005 Hurricanes Baffles Scientists
January 10 — During the record-setting hurricane season of 2005, three of the most powerful storms--Rita, Katrina, and Emily--had lots of lightning, and researchers are still struggling to understand why. (LiveScience.com)

China's Seas Fraught with Disaster in 2005
January 9 — Boating accidents and typhoons left 371 people dead or missing on China's seas in 2005, Xinhua news agency reported. (Reuters)

Predators Help Reefs
January 9 — Saving the big fish that eats the little fish, which eats the seaweed, is now helping to revive once-dying tropical coral reefs. (Discovery.com)

Polar Bears Face New Toxic Threat: Flame Retardants
January 9 — Already imperiled by melting ice and a brew of toxic chemicals, polar bears throughout the Arctic, particularly in remote dens near the North Pole, face an additional threat as flame retardants originating largely in the U.S. are building up in their bodies, according to an international team of wildlife scientists. (The Chicago Tribune)

Climate Change Taking Root: Research Finds Trees Adapting as World Gets Warmer, Moister
January 9 — Warmer, wetter weather in Russia over the past 40 years has already changed the way forests there look - the trees are getting greener while their trunks are getting skinnier - a new study shows. (Albany Times-Union)

Fossil-Fuel Crisis Drives Europe to Nuclear, Green Energy
January 8 — Surging oil prices, deepening concern about carbon pollution and sudden worries over Russia's reliability as a gas supplier have been a windfall for Europe's nuclear and renewable energy industries. (AFP)

Strong Quake Strikes Greece
January 8 — A strong undersea earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale rocked southern Greece, according to the Athens observatory, causing at least two injuries and property damage. (AFP)

Louisiana Team to Study Dutch Flood Controls
January 8 — U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu is leading a delegation to the Netherlands to study the flood control systems protecting a nation much farther below sea-level than New Orleans. (Associated Press)

Caribbean States to Meet on Tsunami Warning System
January 7 — Delegates from 30 Caribbean states are to meet on the island of Barbados next week to plan the setting-up of a tsunami early warning system, UNESCO said in a statement. (Associated Press)

Augustine Volcano Showing More Unrest
January 6 — The Augustine volcano in Alaska continued to show increased unrest this week with small steam explosions and small ash bursts coming from the summit. (Associated Press)

Scientist Urges Deep Cuts in Emissions
January 6 — A leading Australian scientist believes the world has just 20 years to turn the tide on global warming and that leaders at a summit in Sydney next week must take concrete steps to tackle the problem. (Associated Press)

2005 Ties for 2nd Warmest Year Ever, But Cause Still Uncertain
January 6 — Predictions early in 2005 that the year would be the warmest on record turned out to be off the mark, but a new study finds last year tied for the second-warmest year since reliable records have been kept starting in the late 1800s. (LiveScience.com)

Study: Global Warming Will Have Serious Effects in Aspen
January 6 — Aspen is headed toward warmer, shorter snow seasons, according to preliminary findings of an ambitious study on global warming's local effects. (Aspen Times)

Heavy Snow in West China Forces 100,000 from Homes
January 6 — Heavy snowfall in the far western Chinese region of Xinjiang and temperatures as low as minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit have forced the evacuation of almost 100,000 people, the state weather bureau said. (Reuters)

Record Snow in Japan, Cold in Delhi as Asia Shivers
January 6 — Troops and volunteers shoveled snow from roofs and roads in Japan and India's capital New Delhi recorded its lowest temperature in 70 years as a cold wave swept across parts of Asia. (Reuters)

Zeta Unravels, 2005 Hurricane Season Ends
January 6 — Tropical Storm Zeta weakened and began to break apart, bringing a final and overdue end to the costliest and busiest Atlantic hurricane season on record, U.S. forecasters said. (Reuters)

Kashmir Could 'Face More Quakes'
January 6 — One of the world's leading seismologists has warned of the possibility of more earthquakes in the Kashmir region over the next 50 years. (BBC)

Forest Fire Clean-Up Backfires
January 6 — Salvage logging of scorched and fallen trees in the aftermath of the gigantic 2002 Biscuit fire in Oregon appears to have slowed the forest's recovery and increased fire risks, say forestry scientists. (Discovery.com)

Expert: Resources Needed for Montana Bears
January 6 — A federal grizzly bear expert contends wildlife managers desperately need more resources to monitor the threatened bears in northwestern Montana, where he says the 11 known illegal grizzly killings last year were the highest in recent memory. (Associated Press)

Group Sues to Protect Rare Butterfly
January 6 — Conservationists sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeking protection for a rare butterfly they say is threatened by off-road vehicles at one of the largest sand dunes in the West. (Associated Press)

India Begins Count of Threatened Tigers
January 6 — Armed with radio collars and high-tech cameras, hundreds of wildlife experts fanned out across a vast mangrove in India as part of the world's largest census of the endangered tiger. (Reuters)

Fish Flock to Christmas Tree Reefs in U.S. Lakes
January 6 — Stripped of tinsel and ornaments, thousands of Christmas trees across the United States are becoming reefs for fish in fresh-water lakes. (Reuters)

U.S.-French Oceanography Satellite Decommissioned after 13 Years
January 6 — Topex-Poseidon, the durable U.S.-French spacecraft that made El Nino a household term as it revolutionized understanding of the role of ocean temperature on climate, has been decommissioned after circling the globe 62,000 times over 13 years. (Associated Press)

Marine Reserves 'Good' for Reefs
January 6 — Marine reserves give a boost to coral reefs as well as fish stocks, new research shows. (BBC)

Warm Weather Threatening Reef
January 5 — The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says a rise in temperatures over the next couple of months could trigger more coral bleaching. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Florida Manatee Deaths Jump 30 Percent in 2005
January 5 — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission estimated 366 manatee deaths through early December 2005, compared to 276 in 2004. (Associated Press)

Gulf of Maine Study Finds 3000 Species of Marine Life
January 5 — The Gulf of Maine is home to more than 3,300 marine species, or roughly 1,300 more than scientists thought less than a decade ago, according to a new study. (Associated Press)

Ancient Global Warming Shifted Sea Currents
January 5 — An extraordinary burst of global warming that occurred around 55 million years ago dramatically reversed Earth's pattern of ocean currents, a finding that strengthens modern-day concern about climate change, a study says. (AFP)

Study: Boaters Damaging Seagrass in Florida
January 5 — Negligent and inexperienced boaters are damaging fragile seagrass in the shallow Florida Bay, destroying habitat crucial to the state's fishing industry, a conservation advocacy group said. (Associated Press)

Australia Records Hottest Year in 2005
January 5 — Australia had its hottest year on record in 2005, official data showed, with meteorologists saying the rising temperatures were due to global warming. (Reuters)

U.S. Tsunami Alert System Streamlined
January 5 — A portion of $24 million appropriated by Congress in May to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will allow 24-hour staffing, seven days a week, at the nation's two tsunami warning centers in Alaska and Hawaii, near areas that have both experienced deadly tsunamis. (Associated Press)

Group Remaps Some Tsunami Disaster Areas
January 4 — In the year since a tsunami devastated much of coastal Southeast Asia, a Pacific Northwest aid group has digitally remapped some villages that were reduced to rubble fields in the Indonesian province of Aceh. (Associated Press)

'Critical Danger' Warning on Fish
January 4 — Deep sea fish species in the northern Atlantic are on the brink of extinction, new research suggests. (BBC)

Warm Weather 'To Boost Food Bugs'
January 4 — Britain could see a dramatic increase in food poisoning cases and waterborne disease as the warmer, wetter weather linked to climate change takes hold. (BBC)

Planting Trees is Not Always Best
January 4 — Tree plantations have often been touted as a tool for scrubbing carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere -- at least for a while -- to combat global warming, but a new study suggests that new tree plantations also could degrade soil and deplete groundwater, depending on their location. (Christian Science Monitor)

Affluent California County Joining Disaster List: Lawmaker
January 3 — As California towns hit hard by flooding after days of heavy rains cleaned up, a state lawmaker said officials would add affluent Marin County, north of San Francisco, to a list of counties eligible for disaster funds. (Reuters)

Vineyards Unscathed as Flood Waters Recede from California Wine Country
January 3 — Vineyards in California's chic wine country went unscathed in the deadly storms that flooded towns, knocked out electricity, and triggered landslides, wineries said. (Reuters)

Indonesia Flood Toll Hits 63, Villages Cut Off
January 3 — Hundreds of rescue workers and soldiers struggled to reach villages devastated by floods and landslides in Indonesia's East Java as the known death toll climbed to 63. (Reuters)

Tropical Storm Zeta Slightly Strengthens
January 3 — The record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season refused to end as Tropical Storm Zeta defied expectations and gained strength as it churned well offshore. (Associated Press)

Beijing Experimental Buses Aim to Cut Smog
January 3 — Beijing is fitting out 50 of its buses with experimental braking systems that it hopes could cut fuel use by up to 30 percent and help clear its smoggy skies, officials said. (Reuters)

Scientists: Quakes at Mauna Loa Decline
January 3 — Earthquakes at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, sharply declined during 2005, leading geophysicists to believe the world's largest volcano is less likely to erupt than they earlier thought. (Associated Press)

Cool Weather Helps Dampen Australian Bushfires
January 2 — Cooler weather and light rain across southeastern Australia helped contain scores of bushfires that destroyed 15 homes and vast areas of farmland over the weekend. (Reuters)

U.S. Research Budget Worries Scientists
January 1 — Defense and space projects account for most increases in the $135 billion federal research and development budget, worrying scientists who fear that after years of growth the nation is beginning to skimp on technology that fuels marketplace innovation. (Associated Press)

Floods Continue in Parts of California Wine Country
January 1 — Heavy rains continued to cause flooding in towns across Northern California's wine country, with more stormy weather expected over the next day, the National Weather Service said. (Reuters)

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